Originally released May 4, 1984, the film marked Hughes' directorial debut, and the first big breakout role for Molly Ringwald, who went on to become Hughes' main muse, starring in his subsequent films The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink. In fact, the story goes that when Hughes received Ringwald's head shot from his agent, he pinned it up over his desk and wrote the movie in an entire weekend, with her in mind.

In case you've forgotten, here's the plot: Ringwald plays Sam Baker, a teen whose family forgets her 16th birthday because they're too caught up in her older sister's upcoming wedding. She struggles with her crush on dreamy senior Jake, while fending off the advances of a geeky fellow student, and dealing with the typical teenage angst. But all's well that ends well, as Sam ends up with Jake in the end.

Sixteen Candles was also the big breakout role for another Hughes regular, Anthony Michael Hall, who played Ted, aka "Farmer Ted" or "The Geek." Who could forget that scene of him showing off Molly Ringwald's panties to an entire boys' room full of fellow nerds?

Other cast members included sibling actors John and Joan Cusack, Jamie Gertz, and Gedde Wantanabe as foreign exchange student Long Duk Dong, whose racially-stereotyped portrayal would never get by the PC police today.

According to People magazine, Michael Schoeffling, who played Jake, is now a carpenter in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania, and is married with two kids in their twenties. His wife tells People, "He's very reclusive and private," adding, "He's happy."